Hopper dumping sectional closure



y 1955 H. c. HARBERS HOPPER DUMPING SECTIONAL CLOSURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 17, 1950 l Fig i. l d u. v

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HOPPER DUMPING SECTIONAL CLOSURE Filed April 17, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN JE/VEY C 1%98525,

July 26, 1955 H. c. HARBERS 2,713,955

I HOPPER DUMPING SECTIONAL CLOSURE vFiled. April 17. 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 pg .90 J6 100 16 I INVEN TOR.

JU'A/QY C Hrese-es nite tates HOPPER DUMPING SECTHQINAL CLOSURE Henry C. Harhers, San Gabriel, Califi, assignor to Cook Bros. Equipment (30., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application April'17, 1950, stun No. 156,478 11 Claims. c1. 222-s02 This invention relates to closures for controlling the discharge or dumping of materials from hoppers, and it has particular reference, although not necessarily, to closures for vehicle-carried hoppers designed for transporting dry cement or concrete aggregates. Such closures as heretofore designed are suitable either for dry cement or it cannot be manually turned to' open position because of the high resistance oifered by the aggregates due to their low compressibility as a mass.

in the industry it is highly desirable to adhere to the butterfly type of closure because of its structural simplicity and easy manner of manual operation. Accordingly, it is a purpose of this invention to provide a dumping closure of the butterfly type which is selectively operable to permit dumping of the contents of a hopper depending upon whether it is dry cement or concrete aggregates. in the attainment of this purpose the closure is composed of a'plurality of plate-like parts rotatably mounted in the discharge chute of the hopper, and an operating mechanism is provided which is selectively operable to hold the closure parts in a common plane and to turn the parts together in the manner of a butterfly valve for opening and closing the chute, or from a closing position to fold the closure parts downwardly to effect opening of the chute.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide a closure which embodies two plate-like parts, and a mechanism including an operating lever directly actuating one part of the closure, and a second operating lever con nected by linkage to the first lever and to a crank secured to the other part of the closure, the arrangement of the linkage and crank being such that a toggle'is established when the closure parts are in closed position, which sets up a force tending to move the first operating lever inthe opposite direction to the force exerted by the closure'part connected to it, so that substantially no force is exerted on the first lever which might tend to turn it in one direction or the other, thereby relieving the operating levers of unbalanced stresses while the closure parts are inclosed position.

Only one form of hopper closure and one form ofoperating mechanism therefor will be described, each embodying the invention, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawings:

, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tow truck and semi-trailer fitted with hoppers provided with dumping closures constructed according to the invention.

" atent O 2,713,955 Patented July 26, 1955 Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 22 of Fig. l, drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross section on the line 55 of Fig. 1, drawn on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation on the line 66 of Fig. 5, showing the position of linkage when the hopper closure is shut.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the position of the parts in the open position of a two part closure when discharging material such as cement from a hopper.

Fig. 8 is a view similar toFig. 6 but showing the position of the parts in the open position of the hopper closure when discharging material such as concrete aggregates from the hopper.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side elevation looking in the direction of the arrows on line 9-9 of Fig. 5 and showing the position of the closure operating mechanism when the closure is inclosed position.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9 showing the position of the mechainsm when the closure is in open position with the closure parts positioned in a common plane.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the position of the operating members when the two parts of the hopper closure are both allowed to swing downwardly to open position.

In Fig. l the numeral 10 indicates generally a tow truck of usual construction hauling a semi-trailer 12, also of any suitable construction, and having mounted thereon a single hopper 14 provided with a top hinged closure 15, the bottom of the hopper being formed with two truncated inverted conical spouts or chutes 16, 18 each ending in a cylindrical mouth 20, 22. Dumping closures indicated generally at 24, 26 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) are mounted in the months 20 and 22, and since the closures are identical in construction, a detailed description of one closure will sufiice for both.

Closure 24 comprises two semi-circular sections or plates 28, 36, mounted on a rotatable shaft 32 extending diametrically across the mouth 29 and between the straight edges of the plates which close the area between the shaft and the wall of the mouth. Plate 30 is secured by welding to shaft 32, as indicated at-30a, and is braced by arms 34 and 35, welded to the upper surface of plate 30 and to shaft 32.

The straight edges of the plates 28 and 30 are formed at corresponding points with recesses 43 to accommodate sleeves 36, 38, rotatably mounted on the shaft 32. The sleeves project through the wall of the mouth 20 and such wall is reinforced at 46', 41 to provide bearings for the sleeves. A third sleeve 42 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 32 at the center portion thereoflrecesses 43a being formed in plates 28 and 30 to accommodate it. Plate 28 is welded to sleeves 36, 38, 42 and is braced by arms 44, 45, and 46, welded to the sleeves and to the upper surface of plate 28.

Lugs 47 formed on the inner ends of the arms 34, 35, 44, and 4-6 limit upward movement of the plates 28 and 30 with respect to one another to a position in which theyare disposed ina common plane, yet permitting them to fold toward one another downwardly.

To selectively actuate the closure plates 28 and 30 so that they can be caused to occupy the closed position shown in Fig. 6, and locked in this position, or to occupy either of the two open positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11 and then returned to closed position, a manually operable mechanism is provided. This mechanism in the present instance comprises a lever 48 for turning the plate 30, and a lever 50 for turning the plate 28. The lever 48 is fixed at its lower end to one end of the shaft 32, its upper end being bent laterally, as at 52, where it is provided with a handle 53 on its outer side, and a keeper bracket 54 on its inner side (see Fig.

The bracket 54 is provided with an opening 55 in which is received a latch pin 56 that is removably fitted in a second bracket 58 secured to the side of the hopper chute 16, the pin being carried by a short length of chain 56a secured to the chute wall. This pin and keeper bracket are for the purpose of locking the lever 48 in the vertical position shown.

For releasably securing the lever 50 to the lever 48 so that they move together when rotated in a clockwise direction as when viewed in Fig. 9, a pintle 59 is rotatable in a bearing 60 secured to the lever 48. One end of this pintle is bent at right angles to provide a latch finger 61, while its other end is similarly bent to form a holding finger 61a. The latch finger 61 can be turned to engage or disengage the lever 50, and when engaging it provides an operative connection therewith for the lever 50 so that movement of the lever 50 to the right causes the lever 48 to be moved with it. The holding finger 61a serves to secure the latch finger in lever engaging position by engaging the back of lever 48.

Lever 50 at its upper portion is bent laterally to parallel the portion 52 of the lever 48, and its upper extremity is provided with a handle 70. The lower end of the lever 58 is fixed, as by welding, to a link 62 which is pivoted at one end, as at 63, to a crank arm 64 fixed to a sleeve 36. At its other end the link 62 is pivoted as at 65 to one end of a short link 66, the other end of link 66 being pivoted as at 67 to the lever 48. A stop member 68 is fixed to the lever 48 so as to be engaged by link 66 in a manner and for a purpose to be described later herein.

The connecting linkage at the right hand side of ,the hopper outlets, shown in detail in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, comprises an arm 71 secured to shaft 32, a second and longer arm 71 secured to sleeve 38, and a link 72 provided with a slot 72a longitudinally therein. Link 72 is pivotally connected to arm 71 by a pin 75 which extends through an ear 73a fixed to a member 73. This member 73 is tapped to receive a screw-threaded rod 74 fixed to the adjacent end of the link 72. The effective length of the link 72 may be varied by adjustment of the rod in the member 73, and the rod secured in adjusted position by a lock nut 7 3b.

By means of a pin 76 secured in the free end of the arm 71 and movable in the slot 72a, the link 72 is pivotally connected to the arm and so as to provide a lost motion between the two.

Figs. 6 and 9 show the positions of the operating parts on the left and right, respectively, of the hopper chute when both plates'28 and are in closed position. this position the pivots 75 and 76 are joined by a line which is above the axis of the shaft 32, and hence, the link 72 is above dead center in relation to the shaft axis. The tendency, therefore, of these elements is to maintain the closure plates 28 and 30 in a common plane whether they are in closed position or the open position shown in Fig. 7, since it requires a force to be exerted on the arms 71 and 71 to move the link 72 downwardly past dead center to the position shown in Fig. 8. While this mechanism is not essential to the operation of the mechanism at the other side of chute to open and close the plates 28 and 30, it is desirable since it provides added means for retaining the plates 28 and 38 in common plane, whether closed or open.

As shown in Fig. 10, when moving one closure plate upwards and the other downwards, while maintaining their coplanar position, levers 48 and 50 maintain their original parallel positions since finger 61 extends across the edge of lever 50 to prevent it from moving ahead of lever 48 clockwise.

When both closure plates are in closed position the center line of link 62 is above pivot 67, and that since the weight of the material thereabove acting on plate 28 tends to move crank arm 64 downward, link 62 tends to rotate link 66 upward about its pivot 67. However, link 66 is prevented from rotating upward by step 68 and thus is established a toggle which can only be broken by link 66 being swung clockwise about its pivot. This can only occur when lever is forced in a clock- Wise direction. This toggle is maintained when moving the plates in a common plane into open position, as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 10.

When the toggle is set up the weight of plate 28 and of the material resting thereon is transmitted to lever 48 as a force tending to turn the lever in a counter-clockwise direction whereas, the weight of plate 30 and the material supported thereon exerts a force tending to turn the lever 48 in a clockwise direction. Thus the force acting on the lever 48 and tending to turn it in one direction or the other, is reduced to the difference in the forces acting, this difference being quite small since the forces exert substantially equal torque in opposite directions, on the lever.

When using the hopper as above described a fabric tubular shield 77 is mounted around each mouth 20, 22, as shown in Fig. 7, for the purpose of preventing the cement from blowing upwardly during its discharge. The shield 77 may be readily applied by slipping the upper end over a reinforcing bead 78 around the bottom of the mouth, and then tightening a drawstring 79 passing through a hem around the top of the shield.

In operating the closure to dump material of a powdery nature such as cement, the holding pin 56 is first removed from the bracket 54 whereupon, both levers 48 and 50 are swung clockwise by pulling on either or both handles 53 and 70, since they are constrained to move together because of latch finger 61 and stop 68. The closure plates 28 and 30 will, therefore, move together to occupy the open position shown in Figs. 7 and 10, as definitely defined by the plate 30 abutting a stop rod 64 extending across the throat parallel to, but below shaft 32. The closure plates are returned to closed position by reversing the direction of rotation of levers 48 and 50 until they are again vertical, and in which position the levers are retained by reapplying the pin 56.

When dumping a load of concrete aggregates which is too solid a mass to permit closure plate 28 moving upwardly into it, latch finger 61 is first turned out of the path of clockwise movement of lever 50 whereupon, lever 50 is then swung clockwise until the center line joining the pivots 63 and passes below the pivot 67. This breaks the toggle which normally acts to retain plate 28 in closed position, and, therefore, plate 28 will rotate downwardly into the open position shown in Fig. 11 under the weight of material on it, and lever 48 can be freely lowered to permit plate 30 to also rotate into open position.

To reestablish the toggle and rotate both closure plates to closed position, lever 48 is rotated counter-clockwise to the broken line position shown in Fig. 11 until link 66 again engages stop 68, thus reestablishing the toggle relation of links 62 and 66. Lever 48 is then swung clockwise into vertical position and pin 56 dropped into place to secure the lever in vertical position. By now I moving the finger 61 back into engagement with lever 50 and replacing the pin 56, the entire mechanism is locked against movement to secure the closure plates in chute closing position.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of dumping closure for hopper spouts, and one form of mechanism for operating the same, each embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a hopper; first and second closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper and pivoted about a common horizontal axis; a first lever for turning the first closure from a horizontal closed position downwardly to an open position; releasable means for securing the first lever in a position to maintain the first closure in closed position; mechanism for turning the second closure downward to open position from a horizontal closed position, having an arm fixed to the second closure, a first link pivoted to the arm, a second link pivotally connecting the first link to the first lever, a second lever fixed to the first link, and a stop fixed on the first lever engageable by one of the links to maintain the mechanism in a position in which the second closure is in closed position when the first lever is secured by said releasable means; and a latch on one of said levers movable to connect the other lever thereto so that turning one lever both levers are turned to simultaneously move the second closure upwardly to open position and the first closure downwardly to open position, the latch when unconnected to the other lever enabling the second lever to be turned and the mechanism actuated to move the second closure downwardly to open position.

2. In combination with a hopper; a first and a second pivoted closure each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper; a first operating means to open downwardly the first closure; a second operating means to open downwardly the second closure; and means connecting said first and second operating means to each other for simultaneous operation to open one of the closures by swinging it upwardly and the other closure by swinging it downwardly.

3. In combination with a hopper; a pair of closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper and pivoted about a horizontal axis to swing from closed co-planar horizontal position one downwardly and one upwardly in co-planar relation to one open position, or to rotate in the opposite directions about said axis each to a second open position; mechanism operable to selectively swing or rotate said closures to either said first open position or said second open position; and means to hold said closures in closed position.

4. A dumping closure for hoppers, including: a pair of closure members each partially controlling the mouth of a hopper and pivoted horizontally to swing downwardly in opposite directions to open positions under the weight of material in the hopper; means for independently rotating each of said members; and elements movable to one position in which they connect said means to each other so that said members are secured in a common plane and by movement of either means can be rotated together in either direction to occupy an open or closed position, and rotated to another position in which said means are disconnected from each other to allow said members to rotate downwardly to open positions.

5. In combination with a hopper; a pair of closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper, and pivoted about a common axis to swing from a closed position in which they are in a common horizontal plane, both downwardly to open position, one of the closures being swingable also upwardly to open position; mechanism selectively operable to position said closures into the aforesaid closed position, or to swing both of said closures downwardly to open position, or to swing the one closure upwardly and the other closure downwardly; and releasable means for securing the mechanism against movement to maintain said closures in the aforesaid closed position.

6. In combination with a hopper; first and second closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper and pivoted about a common horizontal axis; a firstmember for turning the first closure to occupy a horizontal closed position and a downward open position; a second member for turning the second closure to a horizontal closed position, and selectively upward and downward to open positions; a latch on one of said members engaging the other member to connect the two for simultaneous turning movement; mechanism connecting said members so that by rotation of one member both members will, through the latch, be rotated to turn the second closure to upward open position, and the first closure to downward position, and when the latch is disengaged from the other member, the members can be rotated to move said closures to downward open positions; and a device for releasably securing the members in positions in which both closures occupy closed positions.

7. A combination as embodied in claim 6 wherein the mechanism comprises an arm secured to the second closure member; a first link pivotally connected at one end to said arm; a second link pivotally connected at one end to the opposite end of the first link and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the first member, the second member being connected rigidly to said first link.

8. A hopper dumping closure having a shaft rotatably mounted to extend across the hopper outlet, comprising: spaced sleeve sections rotatably mounted on said shaft; a plate-like closure member secured to said shaft; a second plate-like closure member secured to said sleeve sections and extending from said shaft in the opposite direction to the other closure member when said closure members are in closed position; means for rotating said closure members; latch means movable to one position to secure said members in a common plane so that they may be rotated together from closed position to a position at an angle thereto to open the hopper, and movable to another position to free the closure members so that they will rotate in opposite directions to open the hopper; arms secured to said shaft and to the upper surface of the closure member secured to the shaft; lugs formed on the inner ends of said arms and extending over the platelike closure member secured to the sleeve sections mounted on the shaft, and acting to prevent said closure member from moving upwardly out of a co-planar position with respect to the closure member secured to the shaft but enabling said closure members to rotate downwardly about said shaft in opposite directions; arms secured to said sleeve sections and to the upper sides of the closure member secured to the sleeve sections; and lugs formed on the inner ends of said arms secured to the sleeve sections and extending over that closure member secured to the shaft, and acting to prevent said latter closure member from moving upwardly out of co-planar position with respect to the closure member secured to the sleeve sections.

9. A hopper dumping closure having a shaft rotatably mounted to extend across the hopper outlet, comprising: spaced sleeve sections rotatably mounted on said shaft; a plate-like closure member secured to said shaft; a second plate-like closure member secured to said sleeve sections and extending from said shaft in the opposite direction when said closure members are in closed position, a first lever secured to said shaft, a crank arm secured to a sleeve section; linkage connected between said crank arm and said first lever; a second lever secured to an element of said linkage and arranged to be at times parallel to said first lever; a stop mounted on the first lever, and latch means mounted on one of said levers and movable to one position to hold said levers to each other with an element of the linkage engaged against said stop, so that the closure members secured to the shaft and to the sleeve sections are rotated, by actuation of the levers, in a common plane from closed position to a position at an angle thereto to open the hopper, said latch means being movable to another position to free the closure members to rotate downwardly in opposite directions about said shaft, to open the hopper.

10. In combination with a hopper; a pair of closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper, and

pivoted about a common axis to swing from a closed position in which they are in a common horizontal plane, both downwardly to open position, one of the closures being swingable also upwardly to open position; mechanism selectively'operable to position said closures into the aforesaid closed position, or to swing both of said closures downwardly to open position, or to swing the one closure upwardly and the other closure downwardly, said mechanism including levers, one for each of said closures, links interconnecting the levers, and a latch releasably connecting the levers.

11. In combination with a hopper; a pair of closures each partially controlling the mouth of the hopper and pivoted about a horizontal axis; means to operate the closures for simultaneous opening downwardly in opposite directions about said axis; means to connect the closures for simultaneous rotation about said axis to move one closure upwardly and the other downwardly to open positions and in coplanar relation; and means for latching the closures in closed position,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

